Spinning ring with indented surface



D86 1968 K. c. CHILPAN 3,416,301 SPINNING RING WITH INDENTED SURFACE I v Filed Jan. 51, 1 967 United States Patent 3,416 301 SPINNING RING WITHHNDENTED SURFACE Kurt Constantine Chilpan, Seneca, S.C., assignor to Maremont Corporation, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Filed Jan. 31, 1967, Ser. No. 612,965 9 Claims. (Cl. 57119) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An improved yarn spinning device having a spindle for winding up yarn, a traveler for receiving and redirecting the yarn, and a metal ring for guiding the traveler as it is moved about the spindle by the action of the yarn being wound on the spindle, the ring having a bearing surface for contacting the traveler. The improvement includes a bearing surface having a multiplicity of smooth-surfaced indentations for accumulating the natural elements that separate from the yarn during processing and adapting those elements to act as lubricants between the traveler and ring, those elements including Waxes and finishes used in processing the yarn and fibers of the yarn alone and in combination with the waxes and finishes.

This invention relates to yarn spinning and twisting devices, and more particularly to an improved ring for guiding the traveler in such devices.

Many attempts have been made to increase the useful life of the rings and the travelers, including varying their shapes and increasing their hardness, as well as increasing the bearing surfaces of the traveler, changing the shape of its bearing surfaces and changing its weight. High hardness of the bearing surfaces of the traveler and ring is recognized as desirable to prolong their useful lives. But hardness alone does not prevent wearing. Indeed, if the web of the ring is made too brittle, as may be the case in attempting to achieve high bearing surface hardness, the web may break under the stress of a heavy traveler. Some suggested modifications to the ring and traveler have been expensive and are often complex. Presently, the first few weeks of traveler life must be devoted to breaking in including frequent traveler changes and wipings. After a few months of use the traveler reaches its optimum performance and in as little as six or seven months, the wear may become serious, requiring more frequent replacement of travelers and the use of heavier travelers. Poor performance begins when the bearing surface of the ring is worn as little as 0.003 inch and the ring is replaced when such wear reaches 0.004-0005 inch. Applying normal lubricants to the bearing surfaces of the ring and traveler would improve their life, but this is not a workable solution, for such lubricants will soil the yarn and destroy its value and utility. Contamination of the yarn by such lubricants does not result only from contact of the yarn with the bearing surfaces, but may, as Well, result from the spattering of the lubricant as it is tossed about by the spinning traveler. In addition, the oil film on the ring is transferred to the traveler and creates a sticky surface which facilitates the accumulation of lint on the traveler. This accumulation increases the drag of the traveler, resulting in heavier yarn tension and an increased wear rate of the traveler. The oil-fouled lint is also difficult to remove by conventional traveler cleaning means. Attempts to employ a soft or velvety surface applied to the bearing surface of the ring have proved unsuccessful for such a surface, while it does retain certain particles of the yarn, being on the metal ring wears quickly and its lubricating power is lost.

3,416,301 Patented Dec. 17, 1968 Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a resilient metal ring which has a high-hardness, low-friction bearing surface, a long useful life, requires a minimum of break-in time with each new traveler, and prolongs the useful life of travelers used with it, and which is capable of adapting natural elements in the yarns being processed, such as the waxes, finishes and crushed fiber residue of the yarn, to act as a lubricant on the bearing surfaces of the ring and traveler, and to provide such a ring which is simple and inexpensive to make, similar in size and shape to existing rings, and usable with existing apparatus and travelers.

These objects are accomplished in an improved yarn spinning device having a spindle for winding up yarn, a traveler for receiving and redirecting the yarn, and a metal ring for guiding the traveler as it is moved about the spindle by the action of the yarn being wound on the spindle, the ring having bearing surface for contacting the traveler. The improvement includes a bearing surface having a multiplicity of smooth-surfaced indentations for accumulating the natural elements that separate from the yarn during processing and adapting those elements to act as lubricants between the traveler and ring, those elements including waxes and finishes used in processing the yarn and fibers of the yarn alone and in combiantion with the waxes and finishes.

Other objects, features, and advantages will appear from the following description of a preferred embodiment of the invention, taken together with the attached drawings thereof, in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a spinning device using a spindle, traveler and ring in accordance with this invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the ring and its support taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a section of the ring taken along line 33 of FIG. 2, showing the bearing surface of the ring;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 44 of FIG. 3 with the compressive layer somewhat exaggerated;

FIG. 5 is a magnified sectional view of a portion of the bearing surface of the ring.

There is shown in FIG. 1 a spinning device 10 for winding yarn 12 on spindle 14 by means of a hardened steel traveler 16. Spindle 14 is rotated about its central, vertical axis by a suitable source of power not here shown. Yarn 12 is fed to traveler 16 from the output of a yarn processing machine, not shown.

As spindle 14 turns, yarn 12 is wound on it in layers 18, FIG. 2, and the action of yarn 12 as it is wound moves traveler 16 about metal ring 20.

Ring 20 has a horizontal flange 22 and a vertical Web 24; web 24 abuts shoulder 26 of holder 28 when the ring is mounted therein. And ledge 30 of holder 28 supports base 32 of web 24. The horns 34 of traveler 16 retain the traveler on ring 20 by guiding on bearing surface 38 on the lower and edge portions of flange 22.

Bearing surface 38 has a compressive layer 42 extending from the surface to a depth of approximately 0.002- 0.008 inch, FIGS. 3 and 4. Compressive layer 42 is formed by shot peening the ring with steel balls having a hardness value of approximately 60 on the Rockwell C scale (Re), the shot peening compressively stressing the ring and densifying its crystalline structure in the layer 42 extending inwardly from surface 38, which results in the layer having a compressive residual stress of approximately 148,000 pounds per square inch and a hardness of approximately 58 Rc.

The shot peening of bearing surface 38 provides, in addition to the high hardness compressive layer, a surmild mechanical treatment may, for instance, consist of striking, rubbing, brushing, or vibrating. Such treatment during the electrical treatment will not only fold out but also spread the material out.

At this point in the flow sheet of FIGURE 1 the sheet material is in a spread-out condition wherein the individual fibrils, making up the material, are parallel to the longitudinally axis of the sheet material. In many cases, and for many applications, this is a desirable configuration. However, for certain textile products the yarn used in the manufacture therein should not be lean and smooth but rather should have a high percentage of loose-fibrils along the surface of the web or sheet as the case may be. For instance, in the case of blankets, carpets, and fabrics made from woolen yarns, it is essential to use a bulky yarn which is not produced under the process described in the above-identified patent.

My invention resides in forming a pile fabric from this polymeric sheet material as it emerges from the foldingout step.

With reference to FIGURES 2 and 3, after the sheet material has been folded out as described hereinabove, it passes between a pair of generally cylindrical rollers 12 and 13, which are rotatably mounted in frame plates 14 and 16 respectively. These frame plates 14 and 16 extend vertically from a base plate 18 which is mounted on wheels 20. This unit is able to be wheeled into a position to receive the film 10 directly from the folding-out step described in FIGURE 1 in the event that it is desirable to make the whole process continuous. The sheet or web 10 passes from the rollers 12 and 13 to a roller 54 (see FIGURE 6) which is also rotatably mounted in plates 14 and 16.

With reference to FIGURE 6, a plurality of rollers 54 are shaped to form a crown 56 at their centers. As a result, the fibrils in the central portion of film 10 passing over the crown 56 will break while those in the edge portion of the film passing over the edge of the roller will not. This action of crowned rollers 54 (FIGURE 2) causes the fibrils in the center portion of sheet 10 to break. This web is particularly useful in making yarn and as such it is twisted by conventional yarn twisting means as it is wound onto a spool 58.

As shown in FIGURES 2 and 3, rollers 13, 54 (only one roller is shown; however, it would be within the skill of the art to connect a plurality of crowned rollers into the mechanism) and 29 are connected to a suitable driving mechanism 30. This mechanism comprises an endless belt or chain 32 which passes over a pulley or sprocket 34 which is fixed to roller 54, then over a sprocket 36 which is fixed to roller 13, then over a sprocket 38 which is fixed to roller 29, then over an idler sprocket 40, then over a drive sprocket 42, which is driven by any suitable power source such as electric motor 44, and finally back over sprocket 34. The rollers 12, 13, 54, 28, and 29 are rotated in the directions shown by the arrows.

With reference to FIGURE 4, roller 22 is provided with a plurality of grooves 24 and a plurality of needles 26- or other similar sharp, pointed implements, which project radially from the center of the grooves 24. These needles may be secured in the grooves 24 in any suitable manner. As the sheet 10 passes over the roller 22, portions of it are channelled into the grooves 24 and become impaled upon the needles which penetrate through the sheet material and cause a portion of the individual fibrils to be severed. The degree of breakage would be determined by the number of grooves in the roller and the number of pins in the grooves; however, no more than one-half of the fibers passing over the roller should be broken in order to retain sufiicient web strength. In the preferred embodiment we show only one roller but it would be within the skill of the art to adapt a plurality of rollers over which the film could be passed. The film after passing over the pin-studded roller 22 is received by a pair of pick-up rollers 28 and 29 which are also rotatably mounted in the frame plates 14 and 16. These rollers feed the bulky sheet material to a suitable take-up mandrel (not shown).

FIGURE 5 illustrates another embodiment of my invention. In this embodiment a roller 46 contains a plurality of grooves 48 around the perimeter thereof. These grooves are cut at an angle of 45 to the horizontal axis 50 of the roller 46. This roller 46 is attached to frames 14 and 16 in place of roller 22. A plurality of knife blades 52 are positioned around the circumference of roller 53 rotatably mounted between the vertical frames 14 and 16 a predetermined distance from roller 46. The sheet 10 is passed between the roller and the blade. The blade 52 is rotated in close enough proximity to the roller 46 so that portions of the film 10 pass over the crown of the grooves 48 and are cut by the rotating blades 52. Because of the angle of inclination of these grooves a discontinuous chopping of the individual fibrils results without cutting entirely across the sheet itself. The strength of the sheet itself is not significantly affected. This fabric possesses a tremendous advantage over a normal pile fabric because the pile fibers form an integral part of the sheet and are firmly anchored to the surface of the sheet.

In order to illustrate with greater particularity and clarity the operation of my process, the following examples are offered as illustrative of the operation thereof. The specific materials and conditions given in the examples are presented as being typical and should not be construed to limit my invention unduly.

EXAMPLE I A 60-inch wide fibrillated web of 0.8 mil polyethylene, having a density of 0.95 gram/cc. and a melt index of 0.3 (ASTM D 123 8-5DT, Condition E), is threaded through the machine described in FIGURE 2. A chopper roller 53 is provided with 12 tempered spring steel blades 52 around its circumference. The blades 52 coact with a 12-inch diameter grooved roller 46, made of mild steel and coated to a thickness of 60 mils with durometer rubber. Each groove 48 in roller 46 defines an ellipse in a plane making a 45 angle with the roller axis. These grooves are Aa-inch wide, Aa-inch deep, and spaced so that their centers are fli-inch apart, and having all their edges and corners chamfered and rounded on a -inch radius. Bulk film is fed to roller 12 at the rate of 20 feet per minute while the machine is being adjusted to insure clean, uniform cuts. After adjustment, the rate is increased to feet per minute and about 2000 feet of the material is fed through the machine.

Air filters 2 /2 feet square are produced from some of this material by laminating 21 layers of this bulked film together, each layer being laid at right angles to the adjacent layers 21 and being stitched together in both directions across the film at 6-inch intervals with cotton string and subsequently edged with an aluminum channel having a As-inch flange.

In another application ten 8-foot sections of this bulked fibrilated web are stitched together on 4-inch centers both lengthwise and crosswise and the edges bound to make an exceptionally warm, lightweight blanket.

Example 11 The rollers 46 and 53 are replaced with a 12-inch diameter pin-studded roller 22 similar to that shown in FIGURE 4. The grooves 24 are /2-inch center-to-center with a sharp 60 included angle peak between the grooves. In each groove 36 equally spaced cylindrical pins 26 are positioned wherein each pin is 7 -inch in diameter and has a flat, sharp edged top portion located -inch below the peaks. Web material similar to that used in Example I is threaded through the machine and the machine is started and run at an initial rate of about 15 feet per minute output while adjustments of the film tension over the pinstudded roller 22 are made. After adjustment, the rate is increased to 150 feet per minute to produce approximately 

